InnerBeginings
by Kritabear
Summary: Basically, canon screwed sakura and the girls in naruto and I’m fixing it. It's also definitely gonna be au. Follows canon loosely. Haruno Sakura centric and we may have the occasional POV switch. Sakura will learn that being a shinobi isn’t just about becoming stronger to protect, it’s about becoming stronger to survive. She begins to learn this sad truth from day one of training.
1. 1

"Look at that stupid forehead!"

Kick.

"It's so ugly!" One girl cackled.

"Yeah, and she thought she could take us on! We're basically Shinobi already." _Your're only 2 years older than me. _

Kick.

The group of kids, led by Ami, laughed further with each kick, stomp, and punch they made.

_Why do they hate me so much? Mommy said to fight back, but they're too strong. And what if-_ Another hard swipe and the wind was blown out of me. It hurt. So, so much. _But I can't cry. Mommy wouldn't cry. _

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" A new voice showed up.

I tried to lift my face off the ground, but Ami had her foot permanently glued to my head. She shoved my face further into the ground when she felt me stir.

Sakura grit her teeth. _No crying! _

Then suddenly the pressure was gone and I was being pulled up to my feet. Whoever it was, put me behind them. Such pretty hair. _It looks like mommy's. _

"You're not Shinobi! Not even Genin! I'm Yamanaka Ino and if you don't leave my friend alone, you'll never ever graduate from the Academy!" Her voice was loud and threatening, but made me feel safe.

Everyone around us paled, some even gasped. And Ami, she looked scared! I've never seen her look like that before. Ino...

She grabed my hand, pulling me forward so that I was beside her. I flinched at how hard her grasp was._ But I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to hurt me. She's saving me! Like mommy!_

"Let's go, my daddy will know what to do." She spoke with confidence.

And with that, Ino ran past everyone, making sure to push Ami to the ground in passing. We went out of the park and past all the food stands. Taking turn after turn until we reached a flower shop. Before I could read the sign though, Ino pushed me in.

There were so many colors! Orange, blue, red, you name it.

"So pretty.." I whispered to no one.

"What? Speak up! You gotta be louder if you want to be heard."

"O-Okay." She gives me a narrowed eye look. "OKAY!" Ino seemed pleased by this.

"Better." And with nod of her head she yells for her mommy.

After a few minuets of waiting nervously, a tall lady comes into view. She looks just like Ino! Her hair is a lot longer though, going almost to her knees.

"Princess, I was with a customer, what do you need? And who's this?" Concern evident in her voice.

I move to hide behind Ino when her mom saw me.

The Yamanaka's gaze softend at this and she crouched to be at eye level with us. Before I could hide any further, Ino huffs and pulls me in front of her. Hands staying on my shoulders to keep me from moving away.

"I need daddy! And I don't know who this is, but she's my new best friend and there was a lotta people hurting her. So, I'm gonna hurt them worse!" Ino practically yelled.

Yuma Yamanaka raised her brow at this. Her little princess sure knew how say what she wanted. Maybe we _might_ have spoiled her...just a little. But the young pinkette that was with her looked beaten and battered. _Who would do such a thing to a child?_

"Well, Princess, maybe you should introduce yourself first. And your father is still at work. The both of you will have to wait. Let's head home. Ne?"

~~~~~~

We arrived at the Yamanaka clan compound and entered through a beautifully engraved wooden double door. The compound looked better than the flower shop we were at previously. It was like entering a garden. Yuma-san, as she told me to call her, took us to the first white house. They all appear so similar, the only real difference being the size. The cobblestone path we walked on curved slightly, leading to the front door. Everything here was a lot more modern than most clan homes. Or at least from what mommy had told me about them.

"Come on Sakura-chan! You can stare at our compound later, we gotta go inside and wait for daddy." Ino called out to me. Her sudden voice making me jump, and my permanent blush got redder.

"Al-Alright!" I tried to sound more confident like Ino.

The inside was just as pretty, but before I could say anything Ino directed me to the bathroom.

"Why are we in y-your bathroom?" I asked, confused.

Ino looked exasperated. "You're all dirty because of those stupid girls! We can't let you go looking like that the entire day. Now come on, we'll get in together. It's bonding! Mommy bonds with daddy in here all the time and they're like suuuuper close."

"Okay!" Ino's so nice, a little pushy but she's nice. _She's my friend, my very own friend!_

We get into the bath, the water smells floral. I don't know if I like that.

Ino makes it her job to scrub all the dirt out of my hair. She's unable to cover her gasp when she sees Sakura's unmuddied hair. Laughter erupts from her and Sakura pulls back looking at her shyly.

"Why are you laughing, Ino?"

"Your hair and your name go well together. It's just like cherry blossom petals! So pretty." Ino answered with a smile.

"You..you don't think it's funny looking?"

Ino stops her giggles and seems serious for a moment.

"Of course not! It's super pretty, and it brings out your eye color too. You look like a fairy or something." She nods her head, very sure of herself.

And suddenly, Ino found herself wrapped in a hug with a crying Sakura.

"Thank you *sniff* Ino * Only my parents *sniff* say that. Everyone else thinks it's ugly like my forehead." Sakura continued to wail into her shoulder.

"Well, they're just jealous because they're ugly! Ami could only wish to look as beautiful as us. My mommy said if anyone makes fun of how I look, it's 'cause they think I'm pretty. Now stop crying! They don't deserve those tears, we'll show em how a true Kunoichi looks." Ino gets us out of the bath, giving me a towel.

We run hand in hand to her bedroom. Ino then goes to her dresser and get's out a red sun dress. She tells me to put it on and keep it because 'red just isn't her color'. But I think she doesn't know how to give things away without trying to come up with a 'good' reason.

Ino shoves me to look into her full length mirror. *Gasp* _It's so pretty!_ I wanted to tell Ino, but she was digging around in one of her drawers. Tilting her head, as she let out a loud 'found it!' Ino put whatever she found behind her back when she turned around, grinning from ear to ear.

"Close your eyes, Sakura-chan. I have a surprise!" She exclaimed happily.

Doing as told and putting her hands over her eyes for good measure, Sakura hums with excitement. _I wonder what it is?_ She felt something push her hair out of her face and settle atop her head.

"Alright! Open your eyes." I see Ino with a smug grin on her face and then she moved out the way so that I could look at the mirror once more. My eyes go wide. _It's a ribbon! But, now my forehead shows._ I quickly cover it with my hands.

"Hey! No! Don't do that, Sakura-chan. You gotta let yourself bloom or no one will see what me and your parents see. Look! Really look."

I stare at my reflection again. "I guess... It doesn't look that bad."

My eyes are more visible but so are the bruises made from earlier. The ribbon goes well with the dress too.

"Come on, we can be vain later, I think I heard daddy come in." Ino whisper yelled and the both of us giggled at her antics, then hurried downstairs out of her purple room.

When we arrived to the living room, we were greeted warmly by Ino's parents. Ino received a warm hug from her father and I got an unexpected pat on the head.

"No, don't mess up her pretty hair!" Ino batted his hand away, pouted, and fixed Sakura's ribbon.

Inoichi smiled at this gesture. Ino rarely, no, never let anyone barrow her things much less give. Looks like she's finally made a friend that wasn't Shikamaru and Choji. _I was worried she'd scare them all away._

"I heard you needed to tell me something Ino. Your mother says it's pretty important."

Ino's eyes lit up, suddenly remembering the events from earlier today.

"This is my new best friend, Sakura-chan, and there were a bunch of stupid, jealous girls beating her up! And they lied saying they were Shinobi. Ami is like 2 years older than us, so they're still in the Academy. And so you should do something so that they stop being so mean to Sakura-chan!" She took a big inhale before continuing. "They don't deserve to be Shinobi if they're big ugly meanie heads."

Inoichi and Yuma looked at each other for a moment. Obviously taken aback by what their little Princess just told them. The Academy Instructors should know that their students are using what they're teaching for such things. Bullying has a terrible influence on a child's psyche. After the two adults discussed what to do, they let the two children know of their conclusion.

"Well, tomorrow morning I'll go up to the Academy and inform their Sensei of what has happened. The Sensei will let them know that using what they're learning on innocents is wrong. And their Sensei will decide what else to do, not me. Is that good for you, Princess?"

"Yes!" She shouts. Inoichi chuckles and pats her head lovingly.

Then Yuma turned to Sakura, crouching like earlier. "Let me help with the bruising, Sakura-chan." Yuma puts her hand up and glows green. A nice cool feeling soon goes through Sakura.

"What was that, Yuma-san?" She looked at her in awe, making Yuma-san smirk like Ino does when she's praised. Obviously, that's where Ino get's it from.

"It's a type of Medical Jutsu. But, all I can do is heal bruises, and minor injuries. My real specialty is poisons and antidotes." Yuma-san explained. "Now let's go get you home, Sakura-chan. Ino, Princess, would like to come walk your friend home?"

Ino bounced up with a yes and again, hand in hand, Sakura ran with her new friend.

_My best friend._

~~~~~

AN

Hello people! This is Creeta speaking. This is being cross posted on Wattpad as well. But only this account is mine alone. My Wattpad one is used with my cousin Rita. So she has a fanfic she's starting as well on there.

I've never written fanfiction before, but always wanted too. And I love Naruto! But, come one, cannon kinda screwed the girls over. Tenten got less screen time than Tonton the pig! And I hate that Ino and Sakura ruined their friendship over a boy. So this is very much a wish fulfillment fic. This chappie was just a starter to Sakura's life. And I do have quite a few of my own original ideas that'll come into play, mainly to do with Sakura's family. She will not be OP, and her progression in training will not be super genius level, at least not in things like ninjutsu.

Anyways I hope you all will love this, like how I'm beginning too.

Peace out!

-Creeta


	2. 2

It's been a full month since Sakura met Ino. And it has also been the best month of her life. _Finally_, Sakura has a friend of her own. Someone to play, have sleepovers, and train with.

Although, Yuma-san helps with the training because Ino can't train with anyone outside of her clan until we go to the Academy. They don't practice with the pretty green chakra like Yuma-san had used on Sakura's bruises. Chakra isn't allowed, we could hurt ourselves if we do. And I can't do that if I wanna get strong like Ino and mommy.

Most of the time we try to memorize all the flowers in the flower shop and their meanings. Along with what they do, some flowers can poison you while others can heal! It's so much fun to learn about, Ino says I'm really good at remembering things.

"What's the meaning of Oleander, Sakura-chan?" Yuma-san was quizzing the girls each.

"Oleander has 2 meanings, everlasting love and caution!" Sakura answered quickly, no hesitation present.

"Good! Now, is Oleander poisonous or can it be used in medicine?" She cocked her brow, it was a trick question.

"It's both, Yuma-san. All parts of the Oleander flower is poisonous, the symptoms are drowsiness, slowed heart rate, and shaking. It can even kill you! But, the extract of it can help with asthma, epilepsy and a few other things."

Yuma-san clapped her hands together. "Good, good! Looks like you've been studying a lot, Sakura-chan. Keep it up, here are a few more books. They're not just flowers though this time, different herbs from all the Shinobi Nations."

Sakura's eyes grew wide with a gasp.

"Now, run along back home. Ino has to finish the rest of her clan training for the day. See you Wednesday, ne?"

"Hai! Thank you Yuma-san, see you later Ino-chan." I bowed and then hugged Ino and set off for home. Mommy's supposed to be back today!

Sakura ran with a total of 5 books, one for each major country. They jumbled up and down with each step she took. By the time Sakura made it to her front door, she was gasping for air and red all over from the heat. Just as she was going to turn the knob, it opened by itself to reveal darker pink hair and a set of green eyes, much like her own.

"Daddy!" She tried to seem less winded.

Kizashi laughed at this, and ruffled her hair like he always did. One of his most obvious displays of affection.

"Woah there, Blossom! What's with all the books?" He smiled as her eyes lit up again when he mentioned the books.

"Yuma-san gave me them, they're about different herbs in all the Great Shinobi Nations! I can't wait to read them." Her smile widened at just the thought of reading.

"Well, you can read later, because mommy is back home from her mission. Let me take the books so you can give her the biggest hug yet." Kizashi gathered the pile of reading material from her and watched as she whizzed past him to find Mebuki.

Sakura ran, even though she was exhausted from all the running she'd just done, to find her mommy. She hadn't seen her in two weeks, which was two weeks too long in her opinion. _Maybe mommy can train her like Yuma-san does with Ino!_

She went to the kitchen, but found nothing. _Maybe the living room? Nope, not there. Where could mommy be? Think Sakura, think. Oh! The backyard, mommy likes to be outside._ And with that she swung the sliding backdoor open and flew outside. Mebuki's blonde hair was the first thing little Sakura saw. She was out under the big cherry blossom tree they had in their backyard.

"Mommy!" She exclaimed, jumping to tackle her, but her mother dodged with ease.

"Never try to get a shinobi from behind unless you're absolutely sure they won't sense you." Her mother, like always, had some sort of great and wise thing to educate her about. Or at least that's what Sakura thought.

"Hai! Of course mommy, next time no one will know I'm there. Like you!" She soaked up anything her mother told her. Mebuki was proud to say this.

And with one of her small smirks, she extended her arms to hug her daughter. "Good, Sakura. Good."

Sakura basked in the hug that Mebuki was giving her. But among this bliss were thoughts of what her mother had brought back with her. Mebuki, after coming back from a mission, always had some sort of gift for her daughter. Sakura's first book, candies that you couldn't get in Konoha, and a set of kunai that she's not allowed to use until they start with her training. Which hopefully starts soon.

"Come, Sakura, me and your father have some news to tell you." Mebuki held her hand out for her to latch on.

They made their way inside and went to the living room where daddy was. He was sitting on their sofa, a relaxed smile still on his face. Mebuki went to sit next to him, guiding Sakura to stand in front of them. Her parents shared a look, Mebuki raised an eyebrow at her husband's silly expression. _I married an idiot_, she thought fondly. Then stared back at Sakura.

"Your father and I have decided we'll start your training now, if you wish to go to the Academy next year. Now remember this is a very important choice to ma-" Sakura squealed happily and jumped on her parents.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes ,YES! This is gonna be great, wait till I tell Ino. This means we'll go together!"

"Yes, you'll go together, Sakura. But much like how clan kids have their clan training, you will have your own personal training with us. You can't tell anyone about we do. Okay?" Mebuki informed her. Which sounded kinda weird. Why can't I tell anyone? We're not a clan.

"Why not, mommy?" She inquired.

This time it was daddy that spoke. "Because, you'll need every advantage you can get, Blossom. You won't have the backing of a clan or the chakra reserves they have. You won't have all these 'clan only' jutsus. You're at a disadvantage right from the start."

It was a bit to process, but it made sense. Ino always ended our training short and never spoke about what she did with Yuma-san or Inoichi-san. And usually, Ino loooves to brag about things.

"Sakura, you'll have to work ten times as hard. Okay? You won't have as much time to play, being a shinobi is a big thing. I do dangerous things all the time. _Scary_ things. And if this is what you want to do, I'm going to make sure that you're ready for that by the time you graduate. This _will_ not be easy." Mebuki knew that Sakura won't fully understand what she's saying, but she hopes she understands enough.

Sakura paused. If mommy- no, not mommy. That's too babyish. Oka-san? Yeah!. If Oka-san does scary things, then I will too. I can't let Oka-san do this by herself, I gotta be strong for her and da- no. Otou-san. I have to be strong for them.

With a new glint in her eyes, Sakura stared her Oka-san in the eyes. Determined.

"I will train hard, Oka-san, Otou-san. I won't let you be the only one that's strong, we can be strong together!"

~~~

The next day was the beginning of her training. She met Oka-san sitting near the same cherry blossom tree from yesterday and sat across from her, the morning dew making her dress wet.

Her Oka-san opened her dark eyes at the sound of Sakura seating herself.

"First, no more dresses. You're going to be a shinobi, a _kunoichi_, now. And people will look down on you for being a girl. No sane kunoichi wears a dress unless they're skilled enough to fight in one." Mebuki paused for a moment, then continued. "The exception can be when the occasion calls for one if necessary. From now on wear those training clothes I got you a couple missions ago."

"Okay, Oka-san!" Sakura said.

"For now, we meditate. Meditating is important. It can help expand your small chakra reserves. You won't practice with chakra until you are at least eight. It's too dangerous since you're so young." Oka-san said seriously. She looked to Sakura, making sure she was paying attention.

"Close your eyes, now breathe in through your nose and out your mouth. Make sure your thoughts are clear. Good, Sakura. You're doing great."

Her Oka-san's words of encouragement made her swell with joy. Sakura continued her steady breathing until she was told to start listening for the different noises around her. The music of chirping birds, the wind blowing through the trees, her heartbeat. All these sounds had her utmost attention. She heard everything around her.

They switched from sound to smell, going back and forth, for what seemed to be hours. Then her Oka-san told her they were done.

"We'll get into a better, more cohesive routine. But for now I'm testing your knowledge. I should have started this first." She said.

"But this is a new learning experience for us both, I suppose. Now, Sakura, what _is_ chakra?" Oka-san asked.

Sakura pauses for a moment. She never read about chakra, her books never covered that. And she couldn't go to the library until she was an Academy student. But she heard people talk about it around her all the time. So, she had a good idea of what it could be, or at least some of what it can do. _I can't disappoint Oka-san._

"Chakra is what enables us to do different sorts of jutsus. Like how Yuma-san, Ino's oka-san, could heal my bruises. That was Chakra!" Sakura said. She felt proud of herself for knowing what she did.

"That's all true, Sakura, but Chakra is more than just something to use for jutsus. Chakra is our life force. Without it, you die." This caused Sakura's eyes to go wide. Oka-san smirked.

"Every living thing has Chakra. And everyone has a different amount of Chakra they can hold. Civilians can't manipulate theirs like us because they don't have enough to utilize and they weren't taught how to." Oka-san said.

"So because of this, we protect them from all the bad things! And we get stronger to do it."

Oka-san sighed at this, much to Sakura's confusion. Was this not right? We get stronger to protect. Or at least that's what I thought.

"We're not heroes. We're Shinobi. And yes, we protect our village but we do so because it's our duty as Shinobi of Konohagakure. And as a Shinobi, you get strong so that you can survive. You can't do anything if you're weak. Some Shinobi are strong mentally, emotionally, physically." She took a moment to look into Sakura's eyes. "We play to our strengths, and persevere. We aren't samurai, there is no honor in our line of work. You will learn to play dirty, lie, and do terrible things. And you do this, not just for the success and safety of the village, but so you can survive."

Sakura met her mother's gaze and swallowed.

"Hai, Oka-san. I'll learn to survive."

~~~

That was one of the hardest moments for Haruno Mebuki to have to drill into her daughter. Because she knows that she is now the reason why Sakura won't be a child anymore. She won't allow it, she doesn't ever want her little girl to come home dead. Or worse.

And Danzo has been up to his old shit lately. The missing kids case she was assigned to is all too familiar.

If it wasn't for the third, she has no doubt in her mind that she'd have been in ROOT.

"Snake-taichou, there are three Jounin level Shinobi behind us and another two ahead." Rat said.

"Are they gaining speed? Does it seem like both side are coming at us now, or will it be an ambush for later when we make camp?" Snake replied.

"Ambush. It seems."

"Alright. We'll play into their plan. Owl, when we set up camp throw an illusion over Bear, so that they can set up traps and seals. Rat, stay close to me. You're our eyes on the situation. Let these traitors come at us."

Snake made the plan in haiste. They're definitely ROOT.

But maybe now, ROOT would know better than to test Mebuki's bite.

~~~

DUN DUN DUUUN

Okey dokey, after this. The chapters will continue to get longer and time will pass quicker-ish.

And basically, Mebuki kinda feels like shit because she's taking her only child's childhood away by being honest about how the world works and that it's no walk in the park. But, she'd rather Sakura know now rather later finding the hard way, aka winding up dead.

So it's tough love kinda.

And Mebuki, in my mind, doesn't fully know how to filter for kids. So she speaks them how she would speak to most people. Which is one of the reasons why Sakura is more articulate(?) than other children. She actually finds most baby talk annoying but is too nice to say anything. Though, that might change as time goes on.

-Creeta

••Had to re-edit a teeny bit because I noticed the time slips weren't separated anymore for some reason.••


	3. 3

"Haruno Sa-kura." No that was wrong. I said that weirdly.

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I am Ino's best friend and it's very nice to meet you!" I stuck my hand out towards the mirror.

_No. Oh no, this is so bad. I'm gonna fail at saying 'Hi'._

Today marks exactly two months since Sakura and Ino met. And because, according to Ino, anniversaries are 'super, duper important', and therefore Sakura has been told this every day for a week straight. So, she wants me to come over and meet her other friends. Ino says they're not friends, but she talks about them a lot. I think she doesn't wanna say they're friends because they're boys. I don't know why that matters, but that seems to be it.

"Sakura! There's someone at the door for you!" Otou-san yelled.

That must be Ino!

"Okay, Otou-san! I'll be down soon!"

Looking in the mirror one last time, Sakura flashed herself a smile._ Meeting people is easy, just think of it like training!_ That's what Oka-san had said right before her last mission. And Oka-san is always right.

With that thought still in her head, Sakura fixed her ribbon, adjusted her shirt, then zoomed out her bedroom door. At the bottom of the stairs she saw Ino, who was waiting impatiently. What gave it away was how she always crossed her arms when she was in a hurry.

"Sakura! I had to let myself in because you were sooo slow. Your daddy didn't mind, though. Well, I didn't ask. But, he didn't stop me. Which means it was okay," Ino sucked in a breath of air before continuing."And why are you wearing that ribbon again? I never wear anything twice in one week. You always have it on."

That last comment made Sakura blush.

"Well..Well I, uh. It's a gift from you Ino. And it's-it's really important and I like it. Um, a lot?"

This time, it was Ino's turn to look flustered. But she had noticibly less redness added to her cheeks.

"I guess, since it was from me, it's okay to wear it.. A lot."

"Really?" Sakura wasn't sure why Ino had changed her mind. Ino does that rarely, if ever, honestly speaking.

"Yeah! Now come on, the boys have been waiting for forever."

"Okay, Ino-chan!"

But before she left, Sakura made sure to give her otou-san a hug and kiss goodbye.

~~~~

"I don't know about this, Ino-chan. What if they think i'm weird or have a big forehead?"

They had stopped right in front of the backdoor in Ino's house, before going outside to her family's backyard. Or, well, Sakura had stopped them.

"The only weirdos are them, and you _do_ have a big forehead. Can't change that. Like, my eyes are different and I can't change them. So, why think about it?" Ino had merely shrugged in explaining. Then went on with what she had previously been about to do.

Opening her back door.

Sakura's eyes went wide like saucers.

"Wait! Ino-chan! I'm not ready yet!" But her efforts were wasted. Ino gets whatever Ino wants. It's basically some kind of unspoken law by now. And she wants Sakura to meet her other friends right now. Or um, her not-so-friend friends? It's really confusing.

Ino's backyard was quite large, probably a clan thing, and was basically an oversized garden. Much like the entire compound really. There was one area in particular that all of the adults had congregated at, it was where most of the outdoor furniture was and there was even a grill.

All of the, who Sakura presumed were, moms had been sitting around the table laughing. And all but one dad was standing next to the grill. The man with a spiky ponytail had set up a chair beside the other two and looked like he was sleeping.

Sakura didn't see any other kids though, at least at first glance she hadn't.

Ino didn't seem fazed. _This must be normal then_, Sakura decided.

"Come on, we gotta go to this one tree by the daisies. Shikamaru doesn't like to be by loud noises. Then I'll show you off!" Ino said.

That last bit threw Sakura off a little. _What did Ino mean by 'show you off'? _

They had to run past the adults, Ino didn't even bother to say 'hi', and around the corner. She led them off the cobblestone path and, like she said before, right by a patch of daisies where two boys were.

One was eating from a bag of chips while the other was laying down looking at the sky. Only the chubby one bothered to acknowledge the two of us coming their way.

"Hi, Ino, is this your friend you're always talking about?" He didn't shout like Ino did, much to Sakura's relief. She could only handle so much of it. The boy was actually pretty quiet.

Ino put her hands on her hips. Obviously proud of the fact that she too, now had a best friend.

"Yep! This is Sakura-chan. She's _my_ bestest friend ever! Told you she was real, Shikamaru! Sakura, this is Akamichi Chōji. And the one looking at clouds is Nara Shikamaru." _Oh, so he was looking at the clouds, not the sky. _

Sakura felt a little bashful from being called Ino's bestest friend in front of the two strangers. But that didn't discourage her from introducing herself to them. That would be _rude_, and Sakura wasn't rude.

"Hi, my name is Haruno Sakura and it's very nice to meet you!" She managed to say it all without a stutter. Much to her relief.

Shikamaru only turned his head in acknowledgment, raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't think anyone would want to be around someone so troublesome like you, Ino, you're too loud. Consider me surprised." He said in a deadpanned sort of way. Chōji slapped his shoulder.

"That's not nice Shikamaru. You have to be extra nice to girls," Chōji said, "My dad says so."

This in turn surprised Sakura. She never _necessarily_ had negative views on clans, her best friend is from one, but she heard her neighbors talk badly about them all the time while meditating. And Oka-san says that there is always some truth to a rumor. No matter how small. But, there's obviously exceptions. Some clans are mean, some are nice. And the Akamichi have now been put down on the nice list, along with the Yamanaka.

She's not quite sure of the Nara at the moment.

Ino was obviously not happy by what Shikamaru had said, but was slightly calmed by Chōji's input. That didn't mean she wouldn't give him her two sense though. It takes a lot to shut the Yamanaka heiress up.

"I am not _loud_. My voice just carries nicely. That's what my daddy said." Ino sounded very sure of herself.

"Yeah? That still means loud." He said back.

Chōji's chip eating got a little louder.

"Does not." She narrowed her eyes at him. _Uh, oh. Not good._

Shikamaru sighs. "I'm not playing this game, Ino."

Ino was growling in frustration. _She needs a distraction_, Sakura thought. Then, she suddenly got an idea and turned to Chōji. Maybe he'll see I'm trying to help.

"Let's play hide 'n' seek?" She internally sighed, it came out more as a question rather than a statement.

Chōji seemed surprised that I asked him. And pointed to himself with the chip he was about to eat. That was kinda funny, so I smiled and nodded my head.

This seemed to put out Ino's internal fire. And instead, she was all for the idea. Completely forgetting Shikamaru. More like putting it on her back burner for later.

"Yeah! That'll be lots of fun. Right, Chōji?!"

Chōji hesitated for moment, looking to Shikamaru, who just mumbled under his breath and slowly got into a seated position. He looked Sakura right in the eyes. In a lackluster sort of way.

"I'm not being the seeker first. I'll hide, seeking is too troublesome." He then stood up and helped Chōji to his feet.

"Chōji isn't going to be the seeker first either, it makes him nervous. He's too nice to say that though."

This made Chōji blush, a little smile finding it's way to his face in the process. Sakura could just barely make out him saying a 'thankyou' to Shikamaru.

Hmmm. Maybe the Nara _is_ on the nice list then. Shikamaru is like how Ino is to Sakura, but for Chōji instead. Granted, less noisy about it.

"I'll be it, Shikamaru-san. I've never been it before." Sakura said. This made Ino light up next to her.

"Yeah! See, doing things you've never done before is good, Sakura-chan. Go to the tree and count to 10."

Sakura did as told and buried her face into the bark to make sure she didn't see where any of them went. She waited a moment, until she could no longer hear their footsteps, giving them extra time before counting.

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! Ready or not, here I come!" Sakura yelled loud enough for them hear, hopefully.

She furrowed her brows, looking around the tree. _I don't know Shikamaru-san or Chōji-san enough to figure out where they might go_. And then a thought came to her. _Meditation_. Meditation will help me find them. I've gotten pretty good at it. Oka-san finally started me on sensing the chakra around me while I meditate, just last week. You need lot's of focus to do so. And the last two months were all foucused on paying attention to my surroundings. Always being aware, memorizing scents and sounds. Which was a lot easier than it sounded.

_Alright, let's do this._

Sakura stood in place, still standing in front of the tree, and started to breath in through her nose. Exhaling out her mouth. Oka-san said I was a natural for sensing chakra. But, I can't tell the difference between all of the chakra if I'm not trying to focus. It all feels the same and it's everywhere. So it's a hindrance for now until I can unconsciously tell what's what.

For a week straight, she helped with that. I just have to focus hard enough. Grownups have a larger chakra signature, kids have a smaller one. So it shouldn't be too hard. But I'll have to stop and go a lot since my range is really small. 3 yards is pretty tiny. Oka-san said it was good for a beginner though.

_So I'm also training! And training is fun._

Sakura started to sense around the tree. Not expecting to find anything, because only a fool would stay so close to where the seeker was counting.

But, no, she felt something. It was definitely a persons chakra, it felt different than the tree's natural chakra. It felt... cooler? Yeah, the chakra felt kinda cold.

Sakura went behind the large tree and saw Shikamaru dozing off against the tree.

_How can he fall asleep so quickly?_

She walked gingerly over to the sleeping boy. Unsure of waking him and crouched down.

He looked as relaxed as the man, who's probably his father, Sakura saw lounging in a chair earlier. She got a little closer, deciding it'd be best to gently tap him on the shoulder. Shikamaru and Ino both did say that he didn't like loud noises. And as she was going to tap him, Sakura noticed a single strand of hair had gotten out of his ponytail. Without even thinking she brushed it back in place.

"Huh. Softer than I thought it'd feel." She whispered to herself.

Immediately, Shikamaru's eyes opened. Startling her enough to have her gasp loudly and clutch the hand that had touched his hair as if it was burned.

"I'm so-so sorry, Shikamaru-san. I just was uh putting your hair back in place. And then I was gonna poke you awake because I found you!"

Sakura had never been more embarrassed in her life. _He must think that I'm super weird now! What if he doesn't wanna be friends or doesn't like me?_

"Oh, okay. This tree always messes up my hair. Thanks, my Oka-san would have complained a lot about it. Now _that _would have been troublesome." Shikamaru said, stretching a little afterwards. Sakura was a little perplexed by his reaction. Or lack there of.

"You don't think I'm weird?"

"You have pink hair." He said as if _that_ explained anything.

"O-oh." Was all she could get out.

Shikamaru sighed, he does that a lot. And made eye contact, he does that a lot too. He seemed to be thinking of what to say.

"I think most people are weird. I'm weird because I talk like an adult. Ino's weird because she's _Ino_. You seem to be weird because you have pink hair. Weird isn't bad Sakura, we're friends since you're nice to Chōji. Drop the -san."

All Sakura could think was that he just called her his friend. This was officially the second friend she'd ever had. Which is a lot. Well, at least in her case it is.

"Alright, Shikamaru-san. I-I mean Shikamaru!"

"Okay, lets go find the others. Chōji first, then Ino. It'll make her feel good about herself, and Chōji doesn't like being alone for too long." He said while getting to his feet.

Sakura had to admit, that was pretty sound logic.

~~~~

Shikamaru was definitely right. Ino was ecstatic for being the last one found. She 'obviously had the prowess of a fledgling Kunoichi' was what Inoichi-san had said when she ran over to him to brag of her win.

Chōji looked near to tears when we found him, but was happy that he wasn't found first. I guess he was bullied too, and people didn't let him play with them. _Which is stupid since Chōji is nice. He let me have a chip when I was hungry. _

Now we're all situated with the adults, at the table outside. And of course, the conversation has taken quite the turn. All thanks go to Ino.

"Yeah? Well, my Daddy's the most handsomest daddy ever. Mommy says so." Ino said, her nose up in the air. Obviously looking down on the boys beside her.

"My mom said that's why she married _my_ dad, though. Then the food he made. So your dad can't be the handsomest. " Chōji shot back to Ino. "What about you, Shikamaru?" Who did not look like he wanted in on the conversation after seeing Ino's disgusted face at the thought of Chōji's dad being handsome.

"My mom says my dad is bearable, so that counts I guess." This made his mother, Yoshino-san, laugh hysterically with the other women at the other end of the table who had been listening in.

"No! Your dads are ugly! Sakura-chan, who's dad is most handsome?!" Ino whipped her head to face Sakura.

Sakura looked like a deer caught in headlights. She doesn't like to lie to Ino, but she knows if she answers honestly, Ino won't like it. Ino likes to be right. So, Sakura just fumbled a bit. Clearly at a loss for words. The fellow moms were about to come in and save the day for the poor girl, but Sakura blurted out the first thing that came to mind before they could come over.

"Shikaku-san is the most handsome!" Sakura said.

And all eyes went wide. A silence settling in.

Ino looked horrified. Chōji was still eating his never ending bag of chips. And Shikamaru didn't seem to care.

"What?!" Ino screeched.

"Well-well uh." She was interrupted before she could continue.

"Shikaku-ojisan?! No, Sakura, you're supposed to say my daddy! Not Shikamaru's!" Ino seemed pretty upset at this.

But she always told Sakura to speak her mind, and she did. So she shouldn't be upset!

"You always say to say what _I_ wanna say! Not what you want me to say. I thought you'd be happy!" She yelled back, which surprised Ino. She had never seen Sakura angry before. She kinda liked it though. Sakura was growing a spine.

"Well, I guess I can't be _too_ mad then. You did just do what I _allllways_ said to do." Smirking at the end, throwing Sakura off.

"Why did you say Shikaku-oijsan, though? I think he looks kinda scary with the scar. But he's not really scary." Ino said.

"Um uh. I don't uh know?" Sakura did in fact know. But didn't want to share that information. _But_, Ino _always_ got what she wanted.

"Oh, come on, Sakura! Speak your mind. Tell meeeee!" Ino was very adamant now. Guess there's no getting around this.

Sakura took a deep breath.

"Shikakuojisanlookslikeshikamaru!" There, she said it. She finally said it. But the only ones to catch it was the moms, and boy did Yoshino look smug. She was totally gonna tease her boy about this when they got him later.

"Huh? Speak slower!" Ino crossed her arms. Now she's frustrated.

"Shikaku-ojisan looks," she glanced at Shikamaru," looks like uh, Shikamaru."

Suddenly the previously uninterested boy looked _very_ confused, then petrified.

"You like Shikamaru?! Awwwwe, I'll plan the wedding!" Ino exclaimed, hopping out of her chair and jumping sporadically in the air.

Chōji looked kinda happy for his friend.

"Oh, that's good! You're really nice, Sakura."

"Th-thanks, Chōji.

"Oh, no. Not this, no. Wives are troublesome. _Girls_ are troublesome. I've done nothing to get one." He said which caused his mother to slap the back of his head.

Ino gasped and glared at him. No longer was _she_ planning their wedding.

This ignited a fire in Sakura. How dare he. How _dare_ he. She just said she liked him, basically, and he says _that_. I'm gonna show him. Yeah, girls _are_ troublesome. At least for him they will be.

Sakura narrows her eyes at him. "Che, I don't like you! You're mean and I'm gonna show you what real troublesome is!" She went to dive across an empty chair and Chōji, but was stopped in mid flight. Someone had caught her by the back of her shirt. Shikaku has been the one to catch her.

"Grrr! Let me go, I gotta show him how _troublesome_ girls really are!" She didn't care how she looked, and Ino seemed proud by the predicament she was in.

Shikaku just turned her around to face him. A slightly amused look adorned his face.

"I'd rather you not _maul_ my son for anything troublesome he may have said."

"Yeah, well, I'd rather he not be a big meanie!" Mature? No, but Sakura _was_ a child. Even if she didn't always sound like one.

"Our son did say some.. _troublesome_," Yoshino glared at her husband," things. So he should apologize to young Sakura here. Right, Shikaku?" Her voice made it clear that it had to be done.

Shikaku sighed, similar to his son. Then he put her down, and she hurried over to Ino. Who was still shooting Shikamaru her scary eyes.

All Shikaku did was give his son a look. And he complied to whatever it meant.

"Sorry for calling you troublesome." He mumbled.

"Thank you for the apology, nothing is forgiven. Let's go inside, Ino!"

Ino was baffled by her friend's words. A good kind of baffled, though. So, she giggled and left hand in hand with Sakura. This was definitely the best way she could have ever showed how amazing her best friend was.

~~~~~~

**AN (Author's Note) PLEASE READ**

Hi, my dudes! Sorry for the late update. A lot has been going on mentally. It was the anniversary of my friend's death recently. And I'm ok-ish now! :D

I'm not giving up on this, if that's what you may have thought. Just needed to collect my uh mind?

And also sorry for the uneventfulness of the chapter(s) so far. It's just, she's 5 and life is not action filled for most 5 year olds. But training will slowly get more intense. Her mom and dad are focusing on the mind/her senses right now, instead of heavy physical training. And we now know that she's a natural chakra sensor, buuuuut. She can only differentiate chakra signatures when she's in a meditative state and even then, her range isn't very large at all.

In my head, sensing would be pretty hard since chakra is literally everywhere. Knowing what's what when you're not focusing would be incredibly hard until you've gotten enough training under your belt. So, for now she can't actually tell the difference unconsciously now.

Okay my dudes, I also want to have suggestions for the story. I'd like to hear constructive criticism too. I know my writing is weird. Or at least it's probably weird. I've never written before.

But I really want feedback to let me know if I'm doing this right.

Also, I always thought that Ino was just a sassy female version of naruto for some reason.

-Creeta


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